Key
by MrsMcGinty
Summary: Yuui grows up an outcast and when strange events occur on her 18th birthday she sets off on a quest to find the mysterious Wizard. The road will be difficult and the end unsure. 2nd generation story. Rated T for now.
1. Prologue

A/N: I know I get some plot stuff wrong. Get over it. =P I make it a bloody war. What's life without a little death and destruction? =)

Charra was the village medicine woman. Or that's what people liked to call her. People weren't fond of accepting magic as a means of help, so they told themselves that Charra was just gifted with herbs and potions. Deep in their hearts they knew she was powerful. The village of Kana was full of inactive people. No one ever advanced or moved forward. They all just stayed happily content with their simple lives and no one objected. Not even Charra.

Charra knew well enough by now that her dreams were not fantasy, and she often acted accordingly, trying to make contact with others who might share these dream worlds. She went places and met people who looked like nothing she had ever seen before. Her favorite person to meet up with was a woman named Tomoyo.

She wore elaborate clothes and spoke in words that sounded far wiser than her age would let on. What Charra enjoyed most of all when she met with Tomoyo were the girl's stories; stories of her life and the people who served her, for Tomoyo was a princess. She particularly liked this one servant: Kurogane, even though he was so hot-headed and stubborn.

She told her stories about Kurogane's latest adventures, travelling with a group to search for another princess' memories and how Kurogane learned true strength when he sacrificed his own arm to save a magician he had grown to love.

Another person she met in her dream worlds that she liked was a woman named Yuuko. Yuuko also told her stories of this Kurogane and his travel companions, because it was Yuuko who had given them the means to travel. She described this Mokona as a little white animal with long ears that talked and could transport people from world to world. Charra had a hard time wrapping her head around these ideas, but she enjoyed listening to them all the same.

There came a time when Tomoyo paid her final visit. She was giving up her dream-seeing power as a price to Yuuko for a wish, to bring Kurogane home and offer his group help in their search. Charra was sad, but she knew how important it was that Kurogane and his companions succeed in their mission, so she said goodbye.

Yuuko refused to go into details of what was happening, but she made it sound ominous.

"It's not possible that all this war and fighting could come here, is it?" Charra asked the question that had been nagging at her mind for some time. Yuuko looked grave.

"I'm afraid it is," she stated simply. "Your world has not yet been visited by our travelers, but it is only a matter of time. I am sure one of Sakura's feathers is going to appear there. It may not be in your lifetime, but it will happen." She sighed. "Things are getting intense. If things keep going the way Fei Wang Reed wants, then this could end in an all-out bloodbath. We have to fight. And I told them this wasn't a good time for that," she added to herself, rubbing her forehead. "Stupid vampire… mage… blonde… idiot."

"Fai?" Charra asked, recalling the magician. "What did Fai want?" Yuuko sent her a small smile.

"It doesn't matter. But I'm going to have to leave you for some time," Yuuko said. "I will return to your dreams eventually, but I have to focus on the war." Charra nodded.

"I understand," she said. Yuuko looked up.

"It's almost morning," she said. "Farewell, my friend."

Charra's dreams were relatively quiet for almost two years. She waited for the night when Yuuko would return and give her news of the war. She hoped it didn't turn out horribly bad. And she was ever-curious about Fai's wish, even though she knew it was none of her business.

Then one night, her dreams weren't like they usually were. She could hear awful sounds. Screaming and fighting. Sounds of devastation and war. Then she heard a young man's voice.

"Yuuko! Yuuko, help!"

Charra could then see her friend Yuuko in her shop. A little black creature was projecting an image up on the wall of a blonde man with one startlingly blue eye. The other was hidden behind a blindfold. His face was bruised and bleeding.

"What do you need?" Yuuko asked. The man held out a young child, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the destruction taking place around it.

"Please save her! Just get her out of here and some place safe!"

Yuuko's eyes shifted in the direction of Charra for a moment.

"The only place safe enough resides not in this world. You know full well the price will be high." The man steeled himself for his future.

"I know…. Please."

"Very well."

Another voice rang from behind the blonde man: a deeper, rougher voice.

"Fai! Fai, where are you?"

The blonde looked over his shoulder quickly, then he kissed the child tenderly on the forehead.

"I love you, darling one." He placed something around her neck and handed her out to Yuuko. "Take her. Save her!"

"Mokona," Yuuko ordered. Suddenly the child was in Yuuko's shop and the blonde man and the sounds of war were gone. Yuuko held the child carefully and turned to Charra. "I am sorry for getting you involved," she said, walking closer. "But you should be safe. This child has not done anything against those waging war and should most likely not be sought after." Yuuko handed the child to Charra. She couldn't have been more than a year old. "She will grow up almost like you: with power. There will come a day when she will surpass your abilities and it may come sooner than you'd like. Try to keep her in your village with a low profile. All you can tell her about her past is that she was given to you for her protection and that you know nothing more. Fai has paid dearly to save his daughter. She will become important to all dimensions, so raise her right. I know you can." Charra looked down at the sleeping child.

"What is her name?" she asked.

"You name her," Yuuko said. "It will help if no one from my world or Fai's knows her true identity. I'm afraid this is the last time we will meet. Now go."

Charra woke up quickly only to find that she was indeed holding the child in her arms. She didn't know how she would explain this to the village, but she would find a way. She went back to sleep, searching in her dreams for a proper name to give the child.

Almost as if she was being led, she appeared in a snowy world, covered in ice, yet her skin was not affected by the cold. She was standing in a deep, empty ditch. In the middle of the ditch was a tall tower with a single window at the very top. Something grave had happened here, she could tell.

Suddenly, a horde of voices started ringing in her ears. She didn't understand the language at all. She spun around, looking for a person or creature that could be talking, but found none. She heard a child's voice amongst the others and it sounded sad at first. Then it grew angry. It started talking over itself, like there were two of the same child. The other voices faded away and all she heard was the children. They were both crying, but one was filled with rage.

As she felt herself waking up, she caught on to a word that was repeated by the calmer voice: Yuui.

Charra opened her eyes and looked down at the still sleeping child.

"Yuui," she said. The child wiggled in her sleep, her little fingers closing around something that Charra hadn't noticed before.

A necklace.

The design on the pendant was unlike anything she'd seen before. The bronze parts resembled wings and the blue stones shone brilliantly in the early morning sun seeping through the window. She examined the pendant, trying to decipher the writing on the back. But it just looked like a bunch of funny lines to her. Also contained on the chain was an object completely foreign to Charra, for no one in her world had a use for a key.

The child squirmed again and opened her eyes, blinking a few times before focusing on Charra's wrinkling face.

"Good morning, Yuui."

Yuui smiled.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: illustration /d37zgcu

The sun shone through gaps in the leaves of the trees. The woods were quiet and peaceful, like always, and there wasn't a single person to disturb it… for now. A small white rat froze in the process off eating a berry. The ground began to tremble lightly. The rat darted for its hole and made it just in time before a pale and dirty foot landed right in front of it.

The foot belonged to a creature that was rare, nay unheard of in this area. She seemed fairly normal, and yet everything about her screamed otherwise. Everything from her fair hair to her even lighter skin was practically an abomination. There was no way she was from an area even remotely close by. All the people in the town had hair black as coal and skin as dark as mud.

The girl had other things on her mind at the moment than her strange appearance. She was darting through the trees almost weightlessly, dodging rocks and other objects that were being thrown at her by her pursuers. She was surprised they were doing such a good job of keeping up with her. She could outrun several of the wild animals that lived in these woods. Every time she got her adrenaline pumping, she began to feel lighter and her movements were swift and true.

She began to tire of this game and decided to end it. She closed her eyes, still weaving perfectly through the trees, and focused on what she wanted to find. She let her instincts take over and she soon left the pursuers behind, gaining speed. Her eyes still closed, she let her body lead her to an area of the forest. As she approached her target, she opened her eyes and leapt from the ground into a high tree branch, landing perfectly on her toes, her silvery yellow hair blowing around her face in the breeze. She hopped a few branches until she was right above her target.

Corwin sat lazily under his favorite tree. He was playing with a couple rats that had approached him. One was currently sitting on his shoulder trying to eat his hair while the other was letting him pet it. The rats squeaked and scattered when the girl landed soundlessly in front of them, seemingly from nowhere.

Corwin was used to this behavior from his best friend.

"Why'd you have to scare them away?" he protested, pulling his feet in and sitting cross-legged. The girl sighed.

"I thought I'd get you this time," she said. "You're not easy to scare anymore."

"I've gotten used to your presence," Corwin said. "I can tell when you're near now."

"It kind of defeats the purpose of stealth when your target can _feel_ you," said the girl, spinning around and then sprawling out on the ground, looking up at Corwin. He grinned down at her.

"Hark who's talking," he said. "You can just think about a person and your body will lead you to them."

"That only works with people I really know," she said. "I think it's more like finding spiritual energy and connecting them or something."

"Yuui," Corwin warned, peering around the tree. "Be careful of what you say. You know everyone in Kana hates anything spiritual or magical."

"Then they hate who I am," Yuui stated simply. She sighed and the pendant that had been resting on her collar bone slid down to the ground by her neck with a jingle. "I wonder what Charra's making for dinner."

"Is your mind always on food?" Corwin chided, picking up a rat that had returned. "You're almost old enough for alcohol now."

"I know," Yuui said with a smirk. "Even though Charra's let me have some since I was twelve. Now I'll be able to drink it more often."

"Is it really that good?" Corwin asked.

"It's the most delicious thing in Kana," Yuui said longingly. "It's almost better than food."

"And that's saying something, coming from you," Corwin teased. Yuui gathered a fist full of dirt and threw it over her head at him. He chuckled and put the rat down. He raised himself up to his knees and placed a hand on either side of Yuui's face, bringing his face directly above hers (a few feet apart, of course).

They looked at each other upside down for a moment.

"What do you think marriage is like?" Yuui asked abruptly, her mind on things that would be expected of her now that she was almost eighteen years old. Corwin's face looked shocked and he quickly averted his gaze to the pendant lying on the ground by her neck.

"I suppose it's like the greatest friendship in the world," Corwin decided. "You're always with that person and you protect and love each other no matter what happens." He only looked back at Yuui's face when he saw that she was smiling.

"Then the only person who would agree to marry me would be you," she joked. "Everyone else hates my guts." Corwin's blush didn't show on his tan cheeks, but he could feel it.

"I dunno," he said nervously. "Marriage is a big commitment. Do you think you could live with me for the rest of your life?" he joked. Yuui thought about this far longer than Corwin thought she should have. He began to space out, refusing to say anything before she did. His eyes absently wandered from her lips to her neck… and in the long run down to her chest. He saw it rise and fall with her breathing and realized he was staring, quickly bringing his eyes back to the pendant on the ground.

"I spend all my time with you anyways," she said. "All that would change really would be that we go back to the same house at night." Corwin closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree again.

Yuui could tell something was bothering him. She sat up and fixed her pendant. She took her time pulling twigs and leaves out of her hair. She didn't know what to think. But when she turned around to face him, he looked no different than normal. Maybe it was because she'd been looking at him upside down for so long.

She searched for a subject to talk about.

"Your ceremony is this evening, right?" Yuui asked, already knowing the answer. "Are you nervous?" Corwin chuckled a little.

"Not really," he said. "It's just a little soothsaying and special ink."

"Are you not going to wed?" Yuui asked with a smirk. How did she take their conversation right back to where it got awkward.

"I haven't made a promise to anyone and I don't want to force anyone either," Corwin said firmly. "I want it to be an agreement when I marry. I want her to want it as much as me." He was staring pointedly at the rat that had crawled back into his hands. "What about you? Yours is in three days. Are you nervous?"

"No," Yuui said. "Not much will change for me. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever marry." Corwin looked up at Yuui with his sharp, blue eyes.

"Never?" he asked, disbelievingly. "You'll be shunned from the entire village if they hear you say that on top of all the weird stuff you do."

"I know that, and that's why you're the only one who I tell anything to," Yuui said, drawing in the dirt with her finger. "I don't even tell Charra most of these things. Only when I develop a new ability or something does she seem truly interested. I know she loves me, but her head is always in her dreams. It's almost like when she looks at me, she remembers something sad." She studied the drawing she'd made. It looked rather elegant the longer she looked at it. Art in Kana was never to her tastes, and neither was the music.

"Looks kind of like a bird," Corwin commented. He yelped as the rat bit his finger and rushed away, destroying Yuui's drawing in the process.

"I told you you shouldn't try to play with the wild animals," Yuui said, standing. She offered her hand to Corwin to help him up. He placed his not bleeding one in it and hoisted himself up. "Go wash up in the river. I'm going to help Charra finish making dinner."

She rushed off toward the village. She slowed her pace to a walk as she hopped from the brush to the street. She passed the guys who had been chasing her earlier. Their leader, Kanu, laughed openly at her and showed off his newly acquired inking that resided on his lower back. She thought it was crude and disgusting. She quickly scanned the area. No one else was around.

Immediately after she passed them on the street, she turned around and gave a rather loud whistle, pitch rising from the lowest she could manage to the highest. The dust on the ground beneath them suddenly shot straight into the air, shooting up under their lungi and who knows where else. Yuui skipped away humming delightedly as she listened to the many disgruntled shouts of protest and insults.


	3. Chapter 2

The night of Yuui's ceremony had arrived. Charra had kept her inside the house all day helping her prepare the special ink. Charra had a feeling she would need a lot of it. This worried Yuui, because she had heard that the inking process was painful on top of being time-consuming.

"I'm sure it's just because one of us will be clumsy and spill it," Charra said, running a calming hand down Yuui's arm. Yuui hoped she was right.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Corwin said, carrying a bowl of water over to where Charra was setting up. "Mine's not red around the edges anymore." He ran his fingers over his back, feeling the still slightly swollen mark. Corwin's inking was average at best. It was the symbol of a dragon, which was practically the most common marking for a boy to get. The only thing unique about his was that it was in flight. In all her eighteen years living in this village, Yuui had never seen a man with a dragon inking doing anything other than spouting fire. Corwin's dragon was probably the most peaceful-looking and calm that she could imagine.

And it was another reason for Kanu and his cronies to tease him.

Normally the village chief supervised this ceremony for every young man or woman in the village. He apparently still didn't consider Yuui a true Kanian, (something about not being born in the village) because he failed to show. Normally, Yuui would assist Charra with the ceremony, but since it was Yuui's ceremony this time, Corwin volunteered to take her place as Charra's assistant.

Everything was set. The only light in the room came from the tall candle Charra had lit and set next to the working area.

"Corwin, turn your back while I get Yuui situated," Charra ordered. He obeyed, feeling his cheeks heat up. He swallowed quietly and stared at the wall. "All right." He cautiously looked around. Yuui was sitting on a stool with her top unraveled, holding it against her front, baring her back to the candlelight. It was Yuui's turn to blush as she felt his eyes on her.

"Come here and hold up her hair," Charra ordered. Corwin walked over rather slowly, and let his fingers graze her skin as he gathered the hair from around her neck and held it out of the way. He smiled at Yuui's goosebumps. He could tell she was nervous, so he sent her a wink. Charra took a moment to let herself fall into a trance-like state. She had explained to Yuui many times before that she was letting herself become possessed by the spirit of the person she was inking, and the spirit used her body to project Fate's image onto their skin.

Corwin gasped when Charra opened her eyes. They were clouded over so completely that there was no color to them at all and it scared him.

"It's okay," Yuui whispered, raising one of her hands to rest on his. "Ah!" she gasped as Charra began her work. "That feels too high," Yuui said, sounding worried. "Where is she working?"

"She's about between your shoulder blades," Corwin said. "Quite honestly, I wouldn't expect your inking to be like anyone else's."

"True," Yuui agreed, wincing a little at the pain. Charra applied the inking by basically poking a needle with ink on it through the skin. It didn't take a lot of pressure and it was certainly uncomfortable. After fifteen minutes, Corwin spoke again.

"I think yours is going to be big," he said.

"What makes you say that?"

"All she's done is this big triangular shape, and it doesn't even look done," he said. "I'm pretty sure your Fate isn't a triangle."

Yuui knew she was in for an even bigger ride the first time Corwin had to refill the ink bowl.

"She's going to use all the ink we made," she said with almost a whine. Charra was unresponsive when in this state, knowing nothing except her job, so Yuui openly complained.

Corwin stared as Yuui's inking began to take form. Charra worked well into the night and now Yuui's inking spread across her shoulders and up to her neck. Charra was nowhere near done.

When dawn finally rolled around, Charra suddenly grabbed Yuui's arm and began inking there. Yuui's only thought was that she wished it would be over soon so she could sleep. It didn't look like Charra would be done any time soon and she'd been working all night already. Yuui had gotten to the point where she was numb to the pain.

Corwin had taken to playing with Yuui's hair when he wasn't refilling the ink bowl. It kept him from falling asleep standing up. Yuui asked him what her inking looked like when sunshine started shining through the doorway.

"It's really weird," he said. "But it looks familiar in a way. It's definitely not Kanian style art."

"Great," Yuui said sarcastically. "I can tell it's huge already. I won't be able to hide it if it's on my arms."

"Would you really hide it even if you could?" Corwin asked with a smile.

"Probably not," she said. "Huh?" Charra had lifted Yuui's arm up again, but this time to move to her side. "Great," came another sarcastic remark. "It's going to be over my entire body at this rate." Corwin was trying not to look at where Yuui's top began to slide off of the side of her breast. The skin here was more sensitive so Yuui hissed a few times.

Luckily for both Yuui and Corwin, the inking didn't go any higher than her lower ribs in the front. The process was repeated on the other side. Yuui's arm got tired quickly, but Charra wouldn't let her put it back down for even a moment. Corwin grabbed her arm by the elbow and laid her arm along his so her fingers just grazed the crook of his elbow. He just wished he could do something to at least speed the process up. They all needed sleep.

For the last section of the inking, Charra made Yuui stand up so she could reach her lower back and waist more easily. Yuui grumbled and leaned into Corwin for support. Her legs didn't want to work. Corwin suddenly heard fabric rustling and felt something fall on his feet.

"Don't look down," Yuui warned him just as he was going to.

"Okay," he said, trusting her judgment. Then he realized what it must have been and felt his face heat up again.

Finally, in the early afternoon, Charra stepped away from them and sat down, closing her eyes again. When she opened them, she saw Yuui practically sleeping in Corwin's arms, standing up, naked, with a large and elaborate inking covering the majority of her visible skin.

Charra sighed and approached them, picking up Yuui's lungi and retying it loosely around her waist.

"Make sure she sleeps on her stomach," Charra instructed Corwin. "She'll stay inside until the initial pain leaves. And don't retie her top until tomorrow. We don't want to upset the inking. And stay with her?"

Corwin nodded and led Yuui into the sleeping quarters of the house. Yuui plopped down onto her stomach and sighed. Corwin laid down himself, several feet away from Yuui. She cracked open an eye.

"Get your butt over here," she grumbled.

"Huh?" Corwin asked, looking slightly shocked.

"The floor isn't comfy in this position, but I can't really change it, so I need a pillow," Yuui said as Corwin scooted closer. She lifted herself up with one arm, the other holding her top to her front. She laid herself back down with her head on his chest and her chest near his side. Corwin's face was on fire. It wasn't the first time Yuui had fallen asleep on him (one time, they were out late running an errand for Charra and had to stay the night out in the woods), but that was different somehow.

He didn't have much time to fret, though, because he was just as sleep-deprived as Yuui was and quickly fell asleep.

That night, Yuui dreamed.

She knew immediately that this was what Charra had described to her many years ago. A dream world that bordered on reality for other dreamers. She never would have thought that she would use magic this advanced and powerful.

She sensed a presence behind her and turned quickly.

Standing before her was a very tall boy with black hair and different colored eyes. His outfit was intricate and much different than the clothes of Kana. He had the air of one who was far wiser than they let on. His face held something resembling horror and sadness.

"I hoped this day wouldn't come," he said. "My name is Kimihiro Watanuki. I used to work for Yuuko Ichihara. She was commonly known as the Dimensional Witch, but that title now resides with me. I take it your name is Yuui."

Yuui hid her shock, keeping a straight face.

"Yes," she said. "Charra has told me about Yuuko. I never imagined her successor quite like this."

"Am I a disappointment?" Watanuki asked sarcastically.

"Quite the opposite," Yuui said. "This is my first dream. Everything is quite magnificent." Watanuki looked off at something far away that Yuui couldn't see.

"That mark on your back," Watanuki said. "Do you know what it looks like?" Yuui shook her head. "It looks like this." He held out his hands and a marking appeared, seeming to float, hovering a few inches above his hands. It was an elaborate design. Yuui stared.

"It's beautiful," she said.

"No doubt you've realized its origin is not of your world," Watanuki said as the mark faded and disappeared. "This marking comes from the demolished world of Celes. Many years ago, the last inhabitant left on a journey and returned only once for a short period of time."

"Is that where I'm from too?" Yuui asked. "I know I'm not from Kana. No one else looks a thing like me and I'm not well adapted for here. Am I from Celes?"

"Technically, you're only half right," Watanuki said. "One of your parents is from Celes and they paid a great price to bring you to Kana.

"To save your life."

"To save my life?" Yuui asked. "From what?"

"From war and vengeance," Watanuki said calmly. "From despair and suffering. From oppression and enslavement. The price was giving you up. Everything concerning you was torn from your parents' lives because that would provide you with the greatest protection. Those memories they held were taken as well and they now reside with me in my shop." A box appeared in front of Watanuki. He opened it to show her its contents.

It was divided into two sections. They both held a number of feathers. One side's feathers were marked with a blue design, the other with red. Watanuki closed the box and it vanished like the image of her inking. Yuui hadn't realized she had stepped forward until she stopped.

"You yearn for your parents," Watanuki observed.

"I—" Yuui was surprised to find her throat was closed tight. She swallowed back the tears that had started to surface. "Can I know their names?"

"I can grant wishes, but wishes must be bought," Watanuki said. "I've already told you too much to be free. You can make one wish and pay the price." Yuui thought a moment.

"I wish to find my parents," she said confidently. Watanuki smiled knowingly.

"I cannot grant that wish directly," he said. "But I know someone in your world who can help you. Someone you've rarely heard even a whisper about. The only things I will leave you with are this: a fox and a word."

"A fox?" Yuui asked as a pale green serpent-like creature wound its way out of Watanuki's kimono from the sleeve and flew over to her.

"That is a pipe fox," Watanuki said. "He is actually very magical and wise and will help you find what you seek: which is my 'word'. Go and find the Wizard."

Yuui's eyes opened suddenly and she gasped, sitting up and looking around.

She was in Charra's house. It was dark outside.

"Yuui?" she heard a soft voice behind her. She looked over her shoulder at Corwin, who was still half-asleep. And the pipe fox was currently inspecting him, almost like it was a dog sniffing a stranger. Corwin rubbed his eyes and opened them, looking directly at the pipe fox. "Wah!" he yelped, scooting himself back an inch or two. The pipe fox started, bolting to hide behind Yuui. Its presence reminded Yuui of what she'd just been dreaming about.

"I have to find the Wizard," she said and stood up, grabbing her top and fastening it around her body, ignoring the stinging on her back.

"The what?" Corwin asked and followed her to the main room where Charra was sitting surrounded with incense, meditating. Yuui knelt before her and grabbed her two hands in her own.

"Charra, I need you to tell me everything you know about the Wizard," Yuui said. Charra's eyes opened and bored into Yuui's. She heaved a great sigh.

"I know very little of him," she said. "No one knows his name and he apparently looks very average to the few people who have journeyed to see him. It is said that he is what keeps Kana at peace. He prevents war. His job is to protect us. All I can think is it must get lonely."

"Do you know where I can find him?" Yuui asked urgently.

"You cannot make the trek alone," Charra said, letting her eyes drift to Corwin.

"I don't even understand what's going on," he said, trying to ignore the pipe fox that had made its way over to him again and wound itself around his neck loosely. "What are you talking about: a wizard? You and Charra are the only ones with magic in Kana."

"The world of Kana exists far beyond these village gates, dear boy," Charra said. "The Wizard is said to reside in a magnificent palace at the peak of the tallest mountain in existence. Your new friend should be able to guide you." Charra stood and walked toward the food storage. "I'll pack you as much food as I can for your journey. You'll leave as the sun rises. Yuui, get Corwin up to speed."

"I had a dream," Yuui said immediately when she locked eyes with Corwin. "I had a magical dream like Charra has. I met the Dimensional Witch's apprentice and he told me my parents are alive and the Wizard can help me find them. And one of my parents is from a world called Celes and that's why I look so different from everyone in Kana. I'm half Celesian."

"What's the other half?" Corwin asked.

"I don't know. Watanuki wouldn't tell me. Equivalency and all that. I would have had to pay too much. But he gave me the pipe fox—that's that little green guy—and said he could help me."

"So you're doing this to find your parents?" Corwin asked, absentmindedly petting the pipe fox's small head. It was really soft and he could hear it giving little almost-silent squeaks of approval.

"Wouldn't you?" she whispered, the candlelight gleaming in her moist eyes. "You don't understand. You have parents. You belong here. I don't, and my parents might be able to give me an escape, a _home."_ Corwin frowned.

"So you're going to leave and never come back?" he asked, agitated. Yuui looked to the floor.

"I don't know," she said. "I might not even find them, or something could prevent me from leaving with them. I'll choose when the time comes." She looked back into Corwin's eyes. "But I've got to try." Corwin closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, his face was stern.

"I'm coming with you."


	4. Chapter 3

As soon as Yuui could see the sun rising over the hills to the east, she and Corwin set to leave. But not before they ran into trouble.

It seemed the early hour was no stopper for Kanu.

"Bit early for a walk, isn't it?" he sneered. Corwin fingered the bag Charra had given them filled with food nervously.

"Go away, Kanu," Yuui said, keeping her eyes on the dirt road ahead of her, shouldering her own bag.

"I can't believe you actually were allowed to get an inking," Kanu said in a mockingly shocked voice. "It's the most hideous thing I've ever seen." Yuui ground her teeth before turning slowly and approaching Kanu. She had to look up to see into his eyes.

"This inking is beautiful," she started out softly. "It is from another world, one far more worthy of my presence than Kana. This inking is the only clue I have about my past, and I wouldn't change it for anything. Don't go insulting things you know nothing about, you ignoramus." Kanu blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, did I use too big of a word for you? It means 'stupid'." And she turned on her heel and marched off, Corwin following closely, turning to look over his shoulder and smirk at Kanu.

Kanu let a small smirk take over his own features and Corwin stopped walking.

"Yuui," he said quietly. Yuui looked over her shoulder and froze. Corwin's mother had just approached them from behind Kanu.

"Corwin?" she asked softly, eyeing his loaded bag and then Yuui, who was leading him away from home. "Where are you going? And why are you going with _her?"_

Corwin walked up to his mother and said in hushed tones, "She's my friend, Ma, and she has a name. I'd appreciate it if you'd use it." He really hoped the pipe fox wouldn't choose to come out of the bag until they left the village. It was currently curled up in a coil on top of all their food sleeping.

"But she's not normal, Corwin," his mother hissed. "I don't trust her. You're packed for a really long trip. Where are you going?"

"Yuui has to find someone who can help her find her parents," Corwin said. "It's really important to her, Mom. She can't do it alone. I'm the only one in the village who will even consider helping her. Please let me go."

"I don't want you going," his mother said firmly. "Now come on home. You've been out all night with that witch doctor. You need sleep." Corwin shrugged out of her grasp and stepped back, toward Yuui. Yuui watched with sad eyes. Corwin was a mama's boy and he was having to choose. Surely he would give in. "Corwin."

Corwin was looking at his feet, then raised his gaze to look at his mother in the eyes.

"I'm going with her," he said firmly.

"Corwin!" his mother practically yelled, probably waking up the people in the nearby houses. "Don't you disobey me! I'm telling you to come home! It's dangerous out there and you don't really have any idea where you're going or if you have enough food or if you'll be attacked by wild animals or even people. Please! Come home."

"Yuui has her magic that can protect us," Corwin said, making his mother stiffen up. "We're going to that mountain just past the hills, there is plenty of vegetation, I know how to hunt, and I'm not as hopeless as you say I am!" Corwin took in a shaky breath when he realized he'd just shouted at his mother for the first time in his life. He had to draw a line sometime. "I'll come back when this is all over. I promise." He turned on his heel and walked down the path in front of Yuui, who turned to give Corwin's mother an apologetic look before turning and meeting Corwin's strides.

"Thank you," Yuui said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Don't worry about it," Corwin said, rather cheerily. Yuui looked up at him. "This should be fun. Just the two of us away from all the teasing and bullying. It's kind of like a vacation." He smiled down at her. After a moment, she smiled back.

"Yeah," she said.

Keeping their heading wasn't difficult at all. Yuui just had to think about the mountain and her body would tell her which way to turn or if she was getting off track. It was hard to keep the peak in their sights once they hit the forest, but it did shelter them from the heat of the sun.

"How long do you think it will take to reach the mountain?" Corwin asked as they maneuvered over a large rock. Yuui just jumped on top of it and then bent to give him a hand.

"I'd wager a week, give or take a day," she said, sliding down the other side of the boulder on her feet. "Then we have to climb it."

"Do you think we have enough food to last us that long?" Corwin asked doubtfully.

"That's why we ration and only eat when we're hungry," Yuui said. "You'd be surprised how long you can go without food."

That night, they set up camp in a small hollow. Yuui used a bit of magic to get a spark going for a fire and they ate in silence. Sleep was nearly impossible out in the open. Yuui seemed to have better hearing than Corwin, and her eyes would dart around to the smallest noises, leaving her too paranoid to rest. Seeing her unease made Corwin uneasy as well as he laid on the opposite side of the fire, across from Yuui, and the pipe fox even left Corwin's side to try to comfort the girl.

"We'll be fine," Corwin said.

"I still can't sleep," Yuui said from the other side of the fire. "I feel too vulnerable." Corwin looked at her with sympathy. He didn't know how to help.

"Where have you felt the safest?" he asked. "Try to think about that place."

Yuui thought for a moment. Honestly, she'd have to say it was just the night before, when she'd slept in Corwin's arms. His arm around her seemed to shut out the rest of the world in some way.

When she told him this, he merely held up an arm, inviting her to come over and lay by him.

"It's not too weird?" she asked him.

"You're my best friend," he said as she crawled over to settle in beside him. The pipe fox coiled itself around Corwin's arm gently. "Of course it's weird." He chuckled lightly. "But it's also the least I can do. I want to help you in any way I can because you always seem to be able to take such good care of yourself that it's almost like you don't need me."

"Of course I need you," Yuui said quietly into Corwin's chest as sleep tugged at her. "I'll always… need…" Her voice faded out only to be replaced with a gentle snore. Corwin smiled and rested his chin right above Yuui's head as he let himself fall into sleep.

Yuui dreamed again.

She couldn't hear anything moving or sense anyone's presence. She took in her surroundings carefully. She was in some kind of lodging made entirely of wood. Architecture like she'd never seen, yet she felt it was simple. Suddenly she could feel someone else. She walked down a hallway to find Watanuki seated on a piece of furniture smoking a pipe.

"How goes the journey?" he asked.

"We've only just started," Yuui said. "So far so good, I guess. I have been wondering something though." Watanuki set the pipe down. "What exactly was the price for the fox and the word?" Watanuki smirked.

"You will know by the time your journey has ended," Watanuki said mysteriously. Yuui closed her eyes.

"You speak in riddles," she said. "It's rather frustrating."

"I know, right?" Watanuki said casually. "That's how it goes, sadly. There is only so much I can reveal to you."

"Why can't you just tell me the price?" Yuui asked.

"Because you cannot fulfill it yet and it would be a lot of spoilers if I had to explain it to you now," Watanuki said.

"Spoilers?" Yuui asked, confused.

"Telling you the ending before you know how you got there," Watanuki summed up. "It's against the rules, so to speak. But I will tell you this: the difficulty is not in reaching the Wizard; it is in how you respond to the Wizard, and more importantly, how he responds to you."

Yuui woke up to the sun shining through the leaves of the treetops overhead. Corwin slept silently with his arms encircling her and his hair disheveled, curls falling delicately in front of eyes she knew to be bluer than the sky.

Yuui smiled softly and gently sat up, letting Corwin's arms fall from around her, effectively waking the boy. He blinked a few times before sitting up as well with a yawn. He stretched his back and arms before turning to look at Yuui.

"Breakfast and then continuing on?" he offered.

"I'll start the fire back up," Yuui said while Corwin selected their morning meal.


	5. Chapter 4

Days passed just like that. They'd gotten a routine and it suited them in a way.

Exactly one week into their journey, the trees began to thin out and they saw more of the sky. That night, they reached the base of the mountain. They settled down for the night in a little clump of trees by a lake. Yuui looked at her reflection in the water for a moment.

"We should use the lake to wash up," she announced to Corwin who was about to get a fire going.

"Huh?" he asked, blowing out the tiny flame. "Damn it."

Yuui smiled and walked over. She took the rocks from Corwin's hands, snapped her fingers and a fire roared to life.

"Come on," she said. "You need to clean up too. You look awful."

"Gee, thanks," Corwin said sarcastically, letting Yuui lead him to the water's edge. She placed a toe in.

"Mmm it's warm," she cooed. "I love warm water." She took a step into the water, then turned to Corwin. "Turn around until I say so, okay?" He did as he was told and waited for permission to turn.

Yuui kept her eyes on the back of Corwin's head, making sure he didn't turn, and untied her lungi and top. She quickly hopped further into the water and dove in, swimming out among the fish towards the middle of the lake before surfacing again. Corwin was still facing back toward the camp.

"Okay!" Yuui called. Corwin turned curiously, then saw her pile of clothes on the shore. Yuui laughed when his face turned red.

"Are you crazy?" Corwin yelled out to her. "This is entirely uncouth, you know that?"

"If I get them wet, we'll have to be naked the entire night while they dry, which kind of makes bathing seem a little less 'uncouth', don't you think?" she countered. Corwin blushed furiously at the thought of the two of them sleeping without clothes on, considering the fact that she'd spent the last week's worth of nights in his arms.

"Fine, then you turn around too," he said. Yuui made a show of turning her back to him. She giggled as she heard him walk into the water. "I still don't see how you find this so amusing," he called, staying as close to shore as he could while keeping his body submerged and quickly scrubbing his arms under the water. He jumped when he heard Yuui's voice right behind him.

"Because you're fun to tease," she said and poked him between the shoulder blades.

"Yuui," he warned halfheartedly, backing away from her into deeper water. "Please don't."

Yuui's smile disappeared.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You know I only mean it in good fun."

"Yeah, I know," Corwin said, closing his eyes. "It's just a very serious thing for me." Yuui asked him to tell her with her eyes. Corwin sighed. "I do like you, okay? And in _that way_ as well, so I really don't want to put myself in a situation where my honor and your virtue are both at stake."

"Oh," Yuui said quietly. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable…. But you should know…" She swam closer to him and he wanted to back up more, but couldn't bring himself to do it. She placed a wet hand on the side of his face and looked into his eyes, which were threatening to let tears spill over. "I like you too." Corwin's whole body tensed and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again and spoke, his voice was shaky.

"Please tell me that wasn't my imagination," he said with a weak smile. Yuui giggled.

"Not in the slightest," she said and moved her hand behind his neck, pulling his head down so she could kiss him. Corwin grunted into the kiss and put both of his hands on either side of her face.

"Yuui," Corwin breathed as he broke away for air. "If this all ends… with you having to come back to Kana… will you marry me?" Yuui smiled.

"You're my best—my only… friend," Yuui said. "I want to marry you whether I return to Kana or not."

Corwin smiled and leaned his forehead against Yuui's.

"Even so," he said, "I don't want you to feel rushed into this." He backed away. "Look away while I get out if you want." He watched her over his shoulder as he left the water.

Yuui's eyes trailed down Corwin's lean frame as it was exposed to the air and felt her face heating up when she saw the muscles of his bottom. She couldn't look away though. It was like her eyes were glued open. She actually gasped when he bent to pick up his lungi and ducked her whole head under the water to get herself to snap out of it.

She heard Corwin chuckle when she surfaced again and made her own way to the shore.

"You can look away too if you want," she said, almost hesitating when the water was at chest level before setting her jaw and stepping forward. _Your turn to be tortured,_ she thought. _Though he will be seeing more than I saw._ She was fully aware that she was being cruel, but she didn't feel as apprehensive about the acts of marriage as Corwin thought she did.

Corwin's face turned red and he politely turned his head away, but kept her in his peripheral vision. Yuui ran her hands through her hair and it dried instantly, sending all the water into a puddle at her feet.

"That's useful, isn't it?" Corwin teased. Yuui smiled and ran her hands through Corwin's hair, doing the same thing to his hair.

"I know, right?" she said, sitting next to him by the fire. She leaned back and stretched, lifting her eyes to the mountain looming above them. "How far up do you think the Wizard's castle is?"

"Probably not at the peak, because of the extreme weather," Corwin reasoned, grateful for the lapse back into normalcy. "We should get there by lunch time."

Yuui let out a loud breath and laced her fingers together behind her head.

"It's not too late to turn back," Corwin said. "This is a pretty big thing. We don't know if the Wizard can really even help us."

"There's a chance and I'm going to take it," Yuui said, putting her hands down and leaning forward, turning to look at Corwin's face. "I'm just a bit apprehensive about meeting the Wizard. Watanuki said everything revolves around how the Wizard reacts to us, whatever that means. I get the feeling the Wizard knows a lot more about my parents than Watanuki let on."


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: You will probably notice, I changed something. If you go back and re-read the parts where Yuui dreams, she does not meet Yuuko. I realized where I'm fitting it in has already passed the end of the Tsubasa manga and is towards the end of the xxxHolic manga. So SPOILERS Yuuko is dead and Watanuki has replaced her. So to make it so that you don't have to go back and re-read, Yuuko told Charra when she gave her Yuui that it was the last time she would see her and then when Yuui dreams Watanuki tells her that he had replaced Yuuko, who knew Charra and he had been informed of her story and all that business. So Yuui will now say things like "Watanuki said" when referring to where she gets her information and stuff. So just a heads up, I didn't want anyone to get confused. On to chapter 5!

The trek up the mountain wasn't easy, but it was manageable. Many stops had to be made while the two massaged feeling back into their feet, the rocks were so rough.

When they found the Wizard's place of residence, it wasn't what they had expected at all. It was completely carved into the stone of the mountain and the decorative patterns that were etched around the entrance resembled the style of Yuui's inking. Torches lit their path through the entrance and into a small room. There was absolutely nothing in the room, not even a doorway into another room. The same intricate patterns covered the walls and ceiling.

Suddenly, the torches went out and the two were plunged into darkness. Corwin gasped and they immediately found each other and grasped hands so they wouldn't be separated. The pipe fox tightened slightly around Corwin's neck.

"What is your purpose here?" a loud and deep voice rang through the air around them.

"I've come to see the Wizard," Yuui called out. "I was told he can help me."

The room lit up once more… only it wasn't the same room. This chamber was huge, the ceiling almost out of sight. They were standing right inside the entryway and on the far side of the room was a raised platform with a chair. In it sat—

"How can I assist you, child?" said the Wizard. "Please, come closer." He gestured to the floor right in front of the platform. Yuui and Corwin approached, eyeing the Wizard rather interestedly. There was hardly anything that set this man apart from the rest of the inhabitants of Kana. He had the same dark skin and hair, and blue eyes as the rest of the people Yuui knew. His outfit was rather extravagant and covered much more of the body than Yuui thought was needed. Even his hands were covered. Surely he must get hot, especially during the summer.

"I'm told you can help me find my parents," Yuui said, starting to feel a little disappointed. She couldn't feel anything special about this man. Even Charra's fading power could still be felt in the air around her. She didn't give up hope though, because she did feel something in this mountain. It just wasn't coming from this man. The Wizard tilted his head back a little.

"Your inking is rather unique isn't it?" he said. "Not to mention your complexion and hair. What information about your parents do you have so far?"

"I was told their memories of me were taken as payment for protecting me, and one of them was from a world called Celes." The Wizard's face suddenly went stiff as he thought to himself for a moment. Corwin's eyes flickered to what looked like a second floor balcony, one of many surrounding the room. He could have sworn there was someone standing inside the one almost directly behind the Wizard. The Wizard closed his eyes for a moment and nodded to himself.

"May I see the inking? You needn't disrobe, I only need to see what's visible," he said. Yuui turned and pulled her hair around her shoulder. "Hmm," he mused to himself as Yuui turned back around.

"What is your name, child?" he asked.

"Yuui," she said.

"That's enough!" rang a voice throughout the room. Yuui and Corwin jumped a little. "Go back to your post. I will see to this myself." The man they had assumed to be the Wizard stood and bowed, disappearing through a door behind the chair. Yuui frowned.

"Up there," Corwin said, nodding to the balcony he'd been watching. Someone had come out and was standing there. They could see nothing of his features, even his hair was concealed under a hood, his face cast in shadow. The sense of power grew intense and Yuui felt a little lightheaded.

"I am the Wizard," the figure spoke. His voice didn't command as much presence as the other man's had. It was higher and sounded young. He raised a hand and shining letters zoomed from the tips of his fingers, lifting him up off the floor and bringing him down to their level. "What did you say your name was again?" He got fairly close to Yuui and she could see a small glint of light under the hood from his eyes, but she could not tell what color they were.

"Yuui," she repeated. There was a moment of silence.

"Get out," the Wizard said angrily and turned away from them.

"What?" Yuui nearly shouted in disbelief.

"I said get out!" the Wizard yelled again and raised his hand again. The lights were extinguished again and they felt a rush of wind surround them. When the torches were lit again, they were in the small room that led them to the exit.

Yuui growled in frustration.

"I came all this way and you just kick me out?" she shouted at the ceiling, knowing the Wizard could hear her. "I won't leave until you talk to me! I'll come back every day until I get some answers!" There was a silence that followed and Yuui could tell that the Wizard knew she wasn't lying when she said she would come back. "See you tomorrow." She turned on her heel and stormed out of the cave.

Yuui and Corwin found a place near the entrance to the cave to set up camp.

"Well, that was disappointing," Corwin said, handing a piece of bread to Yuui. She took it without the intention of eating it.

"He has to talk sometime," Yuui concluded.

"Sooner would be better than later," Corwin said, peering into his bag. "We're starting to run low on food."

"We'll start rationing more than we had been," Yuui said, holding her bread out for the pipe fox to nibble on. "Self-righteous jerk. Who does he think he is, just throwing us out like that when we only want to talk?"

"Um, he's a powerful magician who's been locked up in a cave in a mountain his whole life," Corwin said. "I'd be cranky too."

"I wonder why I haven't met him in a dream yet," Yuui mused.

"Maybe he never sleeps," Corwin said, then let out a rather loud yawn. "I, on the other hand, need a lot of sleep. Let's settle in for the night, okay?"

"Okay," Yuui said.

That night she scoured her dreams for any sign of the mysterious Wizard, to no avail. The next day, they returned to the cave and stood in the small room. Yuui shouted and yelled until it was time to head back to camp. Days passed like this and Corwin was really worrying about their food supply.

"Honestly, we won't be able to last many more days of this," he said. "Tomorrow, let him know we'll be starving on his doorstep if he doesn't let us in."

Yuui wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were scanning the trees around them through the looming darkness.

"What's wrong?" Corwin asked, following her gaze.

"Nothing," she said and settled down for the night, but she still felt uneasy.

In her dream, she sat and talked with Watanuki, learning about his life. It was rather amusing.

"Of course I know he's not really a jerk," Watanuki was saying. "He just frustrated me to no end. And he's getting fairly old now and has a son that looks just like him, the moron." He smiled softly at the thought. "I honestly don't know how every generation of Doumekis looks like clones." They laughed together for a little.

Watanuki froze mid-laugh, an almost worried look in his blue and gold eyes.

"What is it?" Yuui asked.

"You have to go," he said quickly. "Now. Something's happening on your end and you have to wake up—"

"—wake up now!"

Yuui bolted up and her eyes darted around her. Corwin was pulling her arm. Their campfire had been relit and was raging all around them. What had her attention, though, was a mass of fur and claws and teeth. One of the creatures was the pale green color of the pipe fox and she had to assume it had changed form. It was bravely fighting a creature far larger than itself, and barely keeping it away from the two humans.

"We have to help him!" Yuui said frantically, running her fingers through her hair.

"How exactly do you propose we do that?" Corwin said sarcastically, dragging Yuui further away from the fight and trying to avoid the rapidly-growing fire. "We have to get out of here soon."

Yuui couldn't think with the fire roaring in her ears and the sounds of growling and teeth snapping. Suddenly it clicked.

She reached her hand out and sent the fire roaring towards the attacking animal. For a moment, she thought she had just given the pipe fox an advantage, but when the smoke and flames cleared, the fox was just as overpowered as before.

"Damn it," she said. "I don't know what else I can do!"

Suddenly, there were bright purple flashes of light and the animal had fallen over. The silhouette of a man appeared, stepping through the flames as if it were nothing. It was the Wizard. He gave the pipe fox a pat on the head and it returned to its snake-like form, winding its way around the Wizard's arm. He turned to Yuui and Corwin.

"It is only sleeping," he said. "We should leave quickly." They followed the Wizard away from their destroyed campsite and to the cave.

"What was that thing?" Yuui asked once they had entered. They passed through the small room straight into the large hall from days earlier.

"Your rooms are this way," the Wizard said, ignoring her question.

"I'd feel more comfortable if we could share a room," Yuui said. The Wizard turned to look at them, his face still hidden.

"You are not married," he stated.

"But we made a promise," Corwin piped in. "We _are_ going to marry when we go back to our village."

"So you're betrothed?" the Wizard offered. "Well that's all right then." He continued walking. They were led behind the chair in the large room to a staircase that led them to the second floor. "This is your room." He opened the door for them and began to leave.

Yuui grabbed his wrist and he froze, almost shocked at the contact.

"I still want to talk to you," she said, surprised at how thin his wrist was.

"In the morning," the Wizard said, his voice softening a little. "You need to rest."

"Fine," Yuui said. There was a moment of silence.

"Would you be so kind as to unhand me?" the Wizard said.

"You're powerful enough to make me," Yuui said, but let go of her hold nonetheless. The Wizard left them without reply and disappeared down the hallway.

Yuui had never seen furnishings like the ones in their room.

"What is this?" Corwin asked in awe, holding a rectangular shaped object. "It's so soft."

"This entire piece of furniture is," Yuui said, pushing her hand down on the large mattress. There was a piece of paper on it and she read it. "'This is called a bed. It is for you to sleep on. The pillows rest under your head and the blankets keep you warm if you need them.' Huh. Must be from another world."

"I like it," Corwin said, already snuggled up on his side of the bed, his face buried in a pillow. Yuui laughed at him.

"You're silly," she said and scooted in next to him. "Ooh. This _is_ nice."


	7. Chapter 6

The next day, Yuui and Corwin were woken by a knock on their door.

"Who is it?" Yuui asked, turning over to face the door. The voice of the servant who had impersonated the Wizard the week before answered.

"The master wished me to inform you that it is midday and there is food for you in the dining hall when you wish to eat," he said.

"You hungry?" Yuui asked Corwin, who was wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Mm-hm," he said sleepily.

"We'll be out in a minute," Yuui called back to the servant and sitting up. She sighed and stretched. "Today, I'm going to get my answers." She turned to Corwin, only to find him sleeping again. She shoved him off the bed and he landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey!"

Yuui giggled and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to smooth it out before leaving, Corwin close behind her. The servant led them through some hallways that Yuui would never remember how to navigate.

"What's your name?" she asked politely. He turned back to look at her almost surprised that she was talking to him.

"Ramàn is my name," he replied.

"Nice to meet you, Ramàn," Yuui said.

The food they were served looked like nothing Yuui had ever seen and tasted even better. They ate with utensils called forks and spoons that shone silver in the light. When they were finished, Yuui turned to Ramàn.

"I would like to speak to the Wizard," she said. Ramàn bowed and led them back to the large room with the elevated chair. The Wizard sat waiting for them. Again, his face was obscured and Yuui had to wonder if he had some kind of deformity that he sought to hide. He waited for Yuui and Corwin to take their seats and Ramàn to leave before speaking.

"I don't know what to make of you," he said bluntly. "Everything about you brings up unwanted memories of my past."

"So you are involved with my past somehow?" Yuui inquired, leaning forward. He impolitely invaded Yuui's personal space by reaching for her necklace, his hand moving faster than Yuui thought possible. He examined the two pendants for a moment, focusing on the one resembling wings.

"No, not at all," he said casually, dropping the necklace. "Quite the opposite, in fact. I had never known of your existence until you came knocking at my door asking for help." Yuui leaned forward again, resting her arms on her knees. "To be honest, even your request seems to perplex me and it all comes back to you in general." He leaned forward and matched her pose exactly. "How can you exist?" Yuui blinked and leaned back.

"I don't understa—"

"Your face, your hair, your eyes, your inking, even your name; they do not belong… to you."

"What?" Yuui asked. "How can they not be mine? I'm human, just like everyone else, I grew into this face and my hair and eyes were attributes I've had since birth. And who can claim a name as their own? Names are passed down through generations and given to others."

"You say you are human," said the Wizard. "Yet you have extraordinary power. Surely that makes you super human."

"None can achieve power greater than that of nature itself," Yuui responded angrily. "In the end, we are all insignificant and we will all perish only to return to the dust from which we were made."

The Wizard let a small chuckle.

"To the contrary," he said. "You and I are not as different as you might think. Our power is nearly equal in its strength. I will have you know that I have been living for almost nine hundred years now, and I can assure you I look not much older than yourself. Once your body matures fully, you will cease to age."

"How is that possible?" Yuui whispered to herself, unconsciously taking Corwin's hand in her own. How was he handling the news that she would outlive him by centuries?

"It is your magic," said the Wizard. "You may have also noticed that you recover from injury quickly. It is all part of stabilizing your body and strengthening it to its full potential."

"That doesn't explain what you meant about how I shouldn't exist," she said. "What is it about me that scares you?" The Wizard did not respond. "I can tell. Every time I'm near you I sense fear and sadness. Who do I remind you of?"

"Perhaps your magic is far more advanced than I thought," the Wizard commented to himself. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen and a couple weeks, actually," Yuui said.

"How strange," he commented to himself again. "That would be around the exact time I relocated to Kana."

"Then you must have something to do with my past!" Yuui said. The Wizard stood, preparing to leave. Yuui followed. "You can't deny it's more than coincidence that for some reason, I seem to haunt you from your past and we both entered this world at the same time." He was about to make it out the door. Yuui lunged for his wrist and pulled, bringing him around to face her.

But he was putting up less resistance than she expected and the force from her pull had blown his hood back as his head came back around to face her, allowing them to truly lock eyes for the first time.

It was like looking at a reflection. Even the expression held the same sort of surprise and shock. The only difference was that one of his eyes was a bright golden color while the other matched its hue with Yuui's blue. But the shape of them, the angle of his nose, the curves of his lips, the swell of his cheekbones, the shade of his skin and hair, even his ears were identical to her own. Now that she thought about it, she was only shorter than he was because his shoes gave him an inch or two of height while her feet stood bare on the stone floor.

Corwin rushed over and came to a stop next to Yuui. He seemed at a loss for words.

"Would you be so kind as to unhand me?" the Wizard softly repeated his words from the night before when Yuui had grabbed him.

"You're powerful enough to make me," Yuui countered and kept her hold.

"I wonder if I am," he mused. "You have no idea what you're capable of, do you?" Yuui let go of him and took another step back. "You could possibly be stronger than I am. I sense that you can see dreams. That is one power that I do not possess."

"I was wondering why I couldn't find you in my dreams," she commented.

"You want to know why you frighten me?" he asked.

"I think I already know why," she said. "Look at us."

"It is more than that," he said. "Do you want to know?"

"Yes," Yuui said. The Wizard looked at Corwin.

"Your eyes and ears only," he said. Corwin was about to protest, but Yuui looked at him pleadingly.

"I'll tell you everything important when I get back," she promised, putting a hand on the side of his face. Corwin shot a glance at the Wizard, as if gauging his trust of the man. He sighed.

"Okay," he said.

"Thank you," Yuui whispered and kissed his forehead before following the Wizard to a distant and hidden room deep within the cave.

"Once, there existed a magical world called Valeria," the Wizard said grandly, like he was reciting an old folk tale to a child. "It was ruled by a king who had a younger brother, the prince. This prince was to take the throne after his brother passed because there was no heir in the direct lineage to take his place."

They entered a room where the walls were covered with various pieces of parchment, each with a rather crudely drawn picture on it. The Wizard lightly touched one of a beautiful woman smiling up at a man, her stomach swollen with child.

"The prince's wife became pregnant and the entire realm rejoiced, anticipating the arrival of the new prince or princess who would surely have great magical power. Once it was time for the child to be born, the prince was devastated to find that his wife had given birth to twin boys. Twins were a sign of misfortune and bad luck. Soon after the birth, the twins' father, the prince, became seriously ill and passed away. Their mother followed him soon after."

He moved to a drawing of two small boys sitting by a double grave. Their hair was light and flowed around their young faces in an invisible wind.

"By this time, the king began to panic. Famine was breaking out in the land and disease was beginning to take hold of the people. There were whispers throughout the land that the Twins of Misfortune had brought these disasters upon them. He ordered the twin princes be brought before him. He knew that if he had them killed," Yuui gasped, "then the calamities to the country would increase all the more. In an attempt to combat the misfortune the twins had brought, he ordered them to be kept in a valley where magic was ineffective and time flows differently."

The next drawing was of a barren valley housing a ridiculously tall tower.

"One of the twins was kept in the valley that was used as a dumping ground for sinners," the Wizard continued. "Their bodies would not rot because of the way time flowed and their souls would find no rest. The other twin was kept locked at the top of the tower. If the twins were kept alive but suffering… if the twins were unhappy… then the country would prosper…. That's what he told us, trying to explain away his mistreatment." Yuui couldn't help but let her tears fall. The Wizard noticed and became uncomfortable, moving quickly to the next drawings.

"The twins were held there for years, not being able to even starve to death," he said, indicating a drawing of the twin in the valley with hair longer than he was tall. "One day, there was a mass dumping of dead into the valley. One of the bodies was holding a letter. It was a distress letter to the neighboring country. The king of Valeria had gone mad and was killing everyone in the country. There were no more soldiers left to stop him. They were calling to warring countries for help. It was all because the twin princes were born into the kingdom. Everything was the Twins of Misfortune's fault. The next thing the twins knew, the king of Valeria himself was falling into the valley. There was no one left in the world besides them and him and it was all their fault. He ran himself through with his own sword, cursing the twins to remain in that valley and live forever, paying for their sin. The twin in the valley began to scream, losing his mind at the injustice of it all. Is it a sin just to be born? That was all they had ever done was be born together. It wasn't their fault. Why should they be cursed? He began to scream and cry while his twin shouted his name from the tower where he felt helpless and useless, unable to comfort his other half. Their screams echoed throughout the entire world." Yuui was shocked to find that the next drawing wasn't a drawing at all, but a harshly written word—a name—filling the entire page. It was her own name.

"The twin in the valley," she said. "His name was Yuui."

"It was," the Wizard agreed.

"What was the name of the other?" she asked.

"It was Fai," the Wizard said.

"And which one are you?" she asked. "Are you Fai or Yuui?"

He ignored her and moved to the next drawing of a man with pointed hair and a beard.

"One day a man came. He was in a different dimension. He offered an escape. But only one could leave. Yuui was told to choose which of them would leave. Before he had voiced a decision, Fai's body came hurling toward the ground. The collision left blood spattered for yards, covering everything, even Yuui's face as he stared in horror at his brother's dead form. The man asked Yuui if he wanted to change his mind, if he wanted to bring his brother back to life if it was possible. Yuui was already mentally unstable, only worried about his brother being gone, cradling the lifeless form in his arms. He took the man up on his offer and in turn was told about a feather that would fall in the world he would go to that would keep Fai's body from rotting. The man also placed a curse on Yuui that if any person with magic power stronger than his own appeared in the world he was going to, he would be forced to kill that person. The man left and the world began to collapse around Yuui and his brother's body."

The next drawing was of a man in long robes similar to the one the Wizard was wearing.

"The next man that came was kind and gentle," he said. "He came to take us away. He asked the twin what his name was. He responded… 'Fai'. In the world he took us to—Celes, it was called—Fai's body was encased in a stone called fluorite, awaiting the day it could be revived."

"Celes," Yuui said quietly. "One of my parents is from Celes."

"Not long after arriving in Celes, the magic feather appeared," the Wizard said. "Yuui, now called Fai, turned the feather into the form of a woman to stay by Fai's side. She was made to resemble their mother." He caressed a drawing of a girl with catlike ears and long hair. "In order to combat the curse that had been placed on Fai, the king of Celes, Ashura-ou, the man who had rescued them, traced a pattern on Fai's skin that would suppress his magical power and stop it from growing."

"That's my inking," Yuui said amazed, reaching up to touch the drawing. The Wizard turned from Yuui and removed his outer cloak, resting it on a small table that was also covered with drawings. His gloved fingers quickly unclasped the buckles on his clothing and he shrugged the fabric down, exposing his back. Yuui gasped.

In the same shape and pattern as her inking and the drawing on the paper, there were raised scars on his back. They didn't look natural, almost too smooth to have not been done by magic. He put his clothes back on as he spoke.

"It took a long time, but Fai learned how to smile," he said. "He grew and studied magic under the instruction of Ashura-ou, whom he had come to love and respect. Then, one fateful day, there came word of a massacre in the country. Ashura-ou did not seem too perplexed by it. When the number of victims became too many for me to ignore, I rushed into the castle demanding I be allowed to investigate. But I was too late. Ashura-ou stood over the bodies of countless palace guards and officials, his cloak drenched with their blood. His magic power increased the more he killed. It had finally surpassed mine with the mark on my back preventing mine from growing. He told me he knew he would go on a murderous rampage one day and that was why he suppressed my magic, so that I would kill him when he did. He wanted me to kill him. I didn't want to. He was the first person to show me and Fai any sort of kindness. I couldn't stop myself from killing him, I suppose, considering I was cursed to do it. I don't even remember doing it, but I must have. There was nobody else in the world. I paid a price to the Dimensional Witch to bring me to a new country where the curse of the twins would not follow me. My price was that I had to give up Fai's body and let it remain in Celes as the world was destroyed around me, and I gave up half of my magic power—that's why my right eye is no longer blue. That is where we get our power from: the color of our eyes. And then I was brought here."

He turned to look at Yuui.

"I've been living in the shadows for eighteen years," he said. "Not even Ramàn has seen my face and he was the first person I met in Kana. He's kind of like my personal bodyguard and henchman. He pretends to be me whenever people visit because I avoid confrontation and I just generally don't like people. I communicate with him telepathically when he feels I will be personally interested in a visitor. That's why his reactions were strange. I was talking to him and giving orders, observing by reading his thoughts. As soon as I heard you say your name I became angry. There were just too many things about you that reminded me of this." He gestured throughout the room.

"What should I call you?" Yuui asked. "Your name is Yuui too, isn't it? But you went by Fai for so long…."

"Call me Fai," he said. "It will also get a lot less confusing for your friend if we keep our names different."

"All right, Fai," Yuui said with a small smile.

"We should head back," Fai said. "Your friend probably thinks you've become my dinner by now."

That evening, Fai ate dinner with Yuui and Corwin. He'd put the cloak back on and his features were hidden once more. Once the plates were cleared away, the conversation veered back to the issue of Yuui's parents.

"To be honest, I have no idea," Fai said. "The most logical explanation is that you are related to me directly like a daughter or sister, but my parents died long before you were born and I've never had the opportunity to have a child. Maybe you were cloned," he tried to joke. It wasn't very funny to Yuui.

"I was told that one of my parents is from Celes," she said. "Charra said she got my name from a dream where she heard it repeated through children's shouts, which goes with what you were telling me about your past. I was brought into this world the same time you came here. I can't understand how you don't know more than this!" She stopped in her tracks, remembering back to something Watanuki had told and shown her.

"_One of your parents is from Celes and they paid a great price to bring you to Kana._

"_To save your life."_

"_To save my life?" Yuui asked. "From what?"_

"_From war and vengeance," Watanuki said calmly. "From despair and suffering. From oppression and enslavement. The price was giving you up. Everything concerning you was torn from your parents' lives because that would provide you with the greatest protection. Those memories they held were taken as well and they now reside with me in my shop." A box appeared in front of Watanuki. He opened it to show her its contents._

_It was divided into two sections. They both held a number of feathers. One side's feathers were marked with a blue design, the other with red._

"Of course!" Yuui said, standing to her feet quickly. "Watanuki told me that my parents gave up their memories of me to protect me from a war that was going on in another world. He showed me the memories. They look like feathers and he keeps them in a box. That's why you can't remember it. You gave up your memories of me to save me!"

"That's absurd," Fai said with a small laugh. "There's the small problem that I've never slept with a woman and therefore cannot have gotten a woman pregnant. To be honest, I don't even find women all that appealing."

"You prefer men?" Yuui asked, confused.

"I don't know, frankly," Fai said. "I think it's more on an individual basis. I'll be attracted to the person I fall in love with and that's that. I've just not been around people enough to be attracted to anyone, I'm afraid. Too much tragedy in my past."

"But what if you did meet a woman and fell in love, but your memories of her were taken away as well?" Yuui asked. "Come on, you have to admit it's a possibility."

Fai looked at her skeptically.

"I have an idea," Yuui said. "You said you can read minds, right?" Fai nodded. "Tonight, I'll talk to Watanuki in my dream and if you read my mind, you'll be able to see my dream, won't you?"

"It doesn't really work that way, but…," Fai said. "I can try."


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys! I had an hour to kill after classes today and I decided to finish up chapter 7 for you. ^-^ It's a bit long, so that might make up for the long wait. (Please? Lol) Be sure to leave a review and all that jazz. You might start to notice that I have Fai begin to act more cheery. I'm going to tell you all right now, he is indeed being a little bit fake about it. He doesn't remember anything that he learned while on the journey with the kids and Kurogane, so he still views his life as not that important. This story will begin to be more centered around Fai as it goes on, but I'll be keeping scenes and points of view changing, so it's written in 3rd person limited? I won't be doing things like "little did they know, that blah blah blah" it's more like what everyone feels at the time and what everyone is experiencing. It'll get even more confusing later when we'll be switching between locations at the same time, so it'll be almost like in Tokyo Revelations when the video and some audio is of Sakura going to retrieve the payment, but you can hear Kurogane, Syaoran, and Fai talking overtop of it because it's happening at the same time. (I followed that along in the manga yesterday haha it's hard looking in 2 places in the book at once while watching the screen too).

Another thing: over my vacation, for some reason, this story turned into a musical (rofl!) so I'll be sticking in author's notes periodically saying "this scene is inspired by the thought of Fai singing such-and-such song" so heads up, the first one is in here. And just in case anyone was wondering, I also have "actors" picked out. Basically who I want to portray who if it were put into a (musical) movie. Haha Yuui is portrayed by the winner of this season's So You Think You Can Dance?: Melanie Moore. Do NOT search her name by itself. Bad things will happen lol. Corwin is portrayed by Damian McGinty (with long hair haha) and Fai is portrayed by Chris Colfer. Voice of an ANGEL from that man. I know that Chris and Melanie aren't really built like CLAMP characters, but I picked them for Chris' singing voice and Melanie's dancing. And Damian for his cute face. ^-^ haha OH! And Kurogane. I am really wanting Kurogane to be portrayed by Jared Leto. My argument is he can totally beef up for it XD He's gorgeous and sings amazingly.

So yeah, really long A/N so I'll let you get to reading! I love you all!

"Are you ready for this?" Fai asked with an air of caution. "I've heard that it's quite uncomfortable the first time someone invades your mind."

"I'm ready," Yuui said with determination, grasping Corwin's hand for reassurance.

"If you want me to stop, let me know, and I will," Fai said before placing two of his fingers right above Yuui's forehead.

There was a small flash of purple light and Yuui's vision went blurry. For a moment, she had no control over her thoughts at all, seeing flashes of someone else's memory and voices speaking in foreign languages. It was all a jumble and she swayed a little.

It was gone as quickly as it had started and she looked up at Fai.

_Can you hear me?_ she thought.

_Yes, _she heard Fai's voice echo through her head almost as if she were thinking it herself. _Can you hear me?_ Yuui nodded.

"Very well then," Fai said aloud, turning away from their room. "See you in a bit."

That night, Yuui had trouble getting to sleep. She heard Corwin snoring lightly next to her in the bed. She usually fell asleep before he did. Her mind was restless and she felt slightly nervous. She was getting so close to finding out about her past and her parents. She very well could have found her father already, talked with him, touched him, learned his story.

The combination of all the thoughts in her head was keeping her conscious.

_You can't sleep,_ she heard Fai's voice radiate through her head.

_My mind is too busy, _she thought back. _It doesn't know how to shut down after today._

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the telepathic connection and for some reason she could tell that he was struggling over what he wanted to say.

_Do you… want to hear a song from Celes? _he settled for saying._ I remember Ashura-ou sang it to me for a long time when I was first rescued from Valeria because it always managed to put me to sleep._

Yuui almost didn't want to. The gesture seemed almost a little too intimate. Then again, he _was_ already inside her head.

_All right,_ she thought.

[A/N: song is "Slumber My Darling" by Alison Krauss] Fai's voice was so smooth and beautiful in her mind that she wondered if he had this much control over it in reality. The melody sounded a bit sad, yet it was entirely truthful and full of meaning. It was a lullaby sung in the context of a mother to a child. The repeated phrase, "Slumber, my darling," lulled Yuui into the world of dreams.

When Fai had finished singing, she let silence hang between them for a few moments.

_That was really beautiful,_ she commented in her head.

_Thank you,_ she heard Fai say. _I assume it helped. You're dreaming now, aren't you?_

_Yes,_ Yuui thought.

_It feels different in a way,_ Fai said. _Do you know where we are?_

_This is Watanuki's shop,_ Yuui thought and made her way through the halls to the main room to find Watanuki lounging on his couch smoking his pipe.

"Good evening," he said politely, bowing his head.

"And you," Yuui returned, opting to sit at the end of the couch as Watanuki sat up to put his pipe down.

"How is the pipe fox?" he inquired.

"Oh he's great," Yuui said. "Though it is hard to get him away from Corwin, but I don't think either of them mind." They chuckled.

"You've spoken to the Wizard," Watanuki said without question. "You want to talk to me about it. I can tell."

_Should I let him know you're hearing this?_ Yuui asked Fai. _We could probably cheat a little for you if he doesn't know._

_Good idea,_ Fai said. _See what you can get. Talk about that box of memories again. I want to hear him say it._

"Well," she turned to Watanuki a little sheepishly. "I did and I've seen his face. He looks exactly like me. Not just traits, but physical features like our eye shape and noses. It's like we're clones or something." She heard Fai give a small laugh to her reference of his own words. "He said he doesn't know anything about me and that I can't possibly be related to him even though it looks like I am. Then I remembered you told me that my parents gave up their memories of me as a price to protect me."

"That is correct," Watanuki said.

"So then, is he really?" Yuui asked, leaning forward a little. "Is the Wizard my father?" Watanuki sighed.

"I'm not allowed to tell you if he is or not," Watanuki said. Yuui's shoulders fell. "It's not that simple. Nothing is that simple. Nor that cheap."

Yuui sat in silence for a while, not even talking to Fai, which made him start to worry.

_Yuui?_ he asked hesitantly.

"Yuui?" Watanuki mirrored the voice in her head.

"How much?" she asked quietly.

"How much what?"

"How much would it cost me to give my parents back their memories?"

Watanuki sat in shock for a moment, then a smirk slowly started to show on his face.

"This might just get a bit interesting," he mused to himself, picking up his pipe again. "I have a way for you to do so. That way of doing it is part of the price, only because I need to add some difficulties to make the price equal. If I split up the wish between you and your parents—but then, no, that wouldn't work…." He sat for a moment, thinking, tapping his pipe on his lip. Yuui's heart was pounding in her chest. He was making a way for her to have her parents back. For them to fall in love again and be a family.

Only, she knew it could never be that simple.

But that was what she hoped for. Finally, Watanuki stood up.

"Did Charra ever tell you the stories Yuuko told her?" Watanuki asked.

"Not really," Yuui said. "She said I wouldn't be interested."

"Hmm," Watanuki said. "Clever woman. She was instructed to not tell you anything about how she received you to help protect you. Yuuko told her stories about your parents… about how they fell in love… about how they wished dearly for a child… about how they gave up everything… to save her…." He turned to look at her sadly for a moment.

"Your parents went on a journey between dimensions," Watanuki said. "And Fai, I know you're listening in on this, and yes, you went on that journey as well." Yuui gasped and sat up straight.

_Damn,_ Fai muttered. Yuui giggled at that. Watanuki quirked an eyebrow.

"He said 'damn'," Yuui reported. Watanuki nodded.

"I'll have you know, Fai Fluorite, that I'm almost as powerful as Yuuko was herself before she died," Watanuki said. "Fai, I assume you wish for Yuui's parents to receive their memories again, do you not?"

Fai was silent.

_What if I'm not your father?_ he asked quietly to Yuui. _What if I'm giving something up for strangers who I've never known?_

_Oh come off it,_ Yuui argued. _He's practically implying that you are my father. If you help split the cost of this wish, the price won't be as taxing on all of us. And you'll be able to fall in love again and have a family again. Please?..._

Fai struggled for a moment to decide. In the end, logic won over his tattered heart. He found he couldn't quite say "no" to Yuui.

_All right,_ he said.

_Thank you so much,_ Yuui told Fai before turning to Watanuki.

"He said 'yes'," she told him. "And I'm sure Corwin will want to come along as well."

"I had figured as such," Watanuki said and sat back down. "In the morning, I want the three of you to bring the pipe fox to the throne room in Fai's palace at midday. The pipe fox will know when you should leave to get here at the right time. Fai, you've been to the Dimensional Witch's shop, so you can transport the four of you here at that time. From there, I will give you the rest of your instructions about the journey. Fai, I'm sure you can find suitable clothes for Yuui and Corwin."

"He says 'of course'," Yuui said, feeling a little thrill at the thought of wearing Celesian clothing. She wondered how she would look in it.

"Very well then," Watanuki said. "It's morning. You should go." Yuui nodded and felt herself wake up and return to the sound of Corwin's snores and the realization that he had shifted in his sleep to lightly drape his arm across her waist. She smiled a little before opening her eyes.

Considering they had a lot of time before midday, when they had to leave, Fai made due with what materials he had to create clothes for Yuui and Corwin to wear. Both of the Kana natives felt uncomfortable in them at first. Yuui warmed up to the high collar and long pants quickly. Both of them refused to wear the gloves.

"We still have so much time to wait," Yuui almost whined. Corwin chuckled, picking up one of his shirt's tails and inspecting the design on it. He was a bit apprehensive about going on this trip, but Yuui was sure that once it got started, he'd fall into place.

Fai walked into the sitting room the two had been waiting in. He'd just gone to change clothes and he had pulled his hair, as long as Yuui's, back into a simple pony tail.

"You may want to restrain your hair in some way," he advised Yuui. "Dimension travel can be like a wind tunnel at times."

"But I've never done anything with my hair," Yuui said, running her fingers through it and feeling them snag on a few tangles.

"Come with me," Fai said and led them to a room with a large mirror and several bottles on a counter. "Sit." She hadn't even noticed the small stool in front of the counter. Fai quickly sprayed something from one of the bottles all over her hair so it was damp. It smelled almost like fruit and Yuui breathed deeply. Corwin watched with a sort of bemused smirk on his face as Fai grabbed a brush. Neither of the teens had seen one in their lives.

Fai gathered Yuui's hair into his hands and lifted it so he could reach the ends without bending over. It took several minutes to get the tangles out of Yuui's hair, but somehow, he had managed it.

"Ha," he said in triumph. "Run your fingers through that!" he told Corwin, who was a bit surprised that this man was talking to him. Just the day before he was a little bit cold towards them. Corwin hesitantly reached a hand and ran his fingers through a little of Yuui's hair.

"Wow," he said, and Yuui brought up her own hand to feel.

"It's so smooth," Yuui said in awe.

"Your hair is actually pretty rough still," Fai announced, scooting some of the stranger-looking objects on the counter closer to him. "It's been untreated and never really clean for eighteen years. Just wait until you experience a shower. Those are fun."

"Shower?" Yuui asked.

"It's almost like standing under a small waterfall to bathe," Fai said. "I rather miss them. They make you feel unbelievably clean. Now." He clapped his hands together and Yuui realized he'd removed his gloves. "How shall we style your hair?"

"Uh…"

"Well, we have enough time to do some hit-and-miss tries," Fai said and quickly grabbed another bottle. This one's contents came out in a foam and Fai worked it into Yuui's hair with a bit of expertise.

Yuui couldn't stop her eyelids from drooping as Fai's fingers massaged her scalp and hair. She didn't know what it was; she wasn't sleepy at all. She heard Fai chuckle at her.

"Mm?" she asked. "What's so funny?"

"You're acting kind of like a cat," he answered. "Does this feel nice?"

"Mm-hm," Yuui said and Corwin smiled a little.

"All right," Fai said and reached for several small objects, pulling them closer to him. "Let's see if I can get this all into a twist."

Yuui could feel the skin on her temples being pulled back with her hair and watched Fai's work in the mirror. Her hair was going everywhere and being pulled in lots of directions. It was strange. Finally, Fai stepped back and turned the stool to face Corwin.

"Hit or miss?" he asked the boy.

"Uh…" Corwin didn't know what to say. It all looked weird, so he shrugged. "I don't know."

"It feels really heavy," Yuui commented, feeling the pull of the weight of her hair.

"Hmm, let's try something else," Fai said and in one pull of a trinket, Yuui's hair fell down her back again and she was turned back around. "Lean your head back for a bit."

Yuui couldn't watch what he was doing this time, but she could feel that he was taking her hair bits at a time and moving from one side of her head and back. At one point he made a disapproving noise and ran his hands through it all again to undo his work. This time, he started from a different spot and did the same thing moving in a different direction.

Gradually, she was able to raise her head back to its normal position as Fai worked. Once he got to the end of her scalp and had all of her hair in his hands, it went by much faster and his hands were almost a blur of color as he twisted and moved strands of her hair into a sort of rope. He tied it off at the end and then twisted it around at the back of her head before shaking his head and just letting it drop over her shoulder.

This time Corwin smiled and nodded when Yuui was turned around.

"I like that one," he said.

"It's called a French Braid," Fai said as Yuui ran her hands over her plait. "It's fairly simple to do and looks particularly nice on long hair. And it stays up for a long time."

"It's good," Yuui said. "It's nice."

"In your particular case," Fai said, "I started the braid on the left side of your head and it wraps around behind so that it will naturally drape in front of your shoulder while still allowing for some of your hair in front to be loose." He turned to Corwin.

"You could at least let me brush out your hair too," he said. "Men don't normally put their hair up, but mine is very long. It still helps to brush it and condition it."

That entire adventure was embarrassing for Corwin, hilarious for Yuui, and fun for Fai. Fai kept saying he liked the color of Corwin's hair once some of the dirt had been brushed out of it and it laid on his head the way it was meant to. When Yuui looked closely, she really could tell it was a lot darker than she had originally thought. It made his eyes even brighter blue.

By the time that was done with, it was nearly mid-day, so the group gathered in the main room and waited for the pipe fox's signal.

Finally, it gave a small squeak from Corwin's shoulder and Fai moved to stand in front of the two teens with his back to them.

"Brace yourselves," he said and began almost writing in the air. Purple glowing symbols were left floating there and as Fai kept writing, they scrolled around making a circle around the group. When the circle was connected, a giant circle with an intricate design appeared under their feet and the words Fai had written began spinning. The wind picked up as the words spun faster and faster until all Yuui could see was swirling purple. Suddenly, the ground disappeared from underneath her feet and she let out a small yelp, feeling like she would fall, but instead, she floated, almost like she did in water, but he could feel no water pressure on her body and she was most definitely not getting wet.

Corwin's face held the same surprise, but Fai looked calm and smiled kindly at them.

"Just hang tight now," Fai said happily. "Not much left for you to do but wait until we arrive."

It wasn't long before Yuui felt ground beneath her feet again and the spinning purple slowed and disappeared altogether.

They stood on a lawn in front of a wooden structure and Yuui recognized it to be Watanuki's shop. Indeed, as soon as they landed, the boy emerged from the shop, into the rain, followed by another boy who was taller and more stoic.

Watanuki bowed, as did the boy. The travellers did the same.

"Welcome, Yuui-chan," Watanuki said to her. "And Corwin-kun." He turned to Fai. "Welcome back, Fai-san. It's been a long time."


	9. Chapter 8

Fai's eyes widened a little. He had never met this boy, as far as he knew.

"It's nice to meet you," he opted for saying. Watanuki just smiled at him knowingly.

"Let's get straight to business, shall we?" Watanuki said, clapping his hands together, looking rather cheerful. He turned to the man standing behind him, who stepped forward, holding something in his hands. As he got closer, Yuui could tell it was the box that held her parents' memories. "Here's how this is going to work," Watanuki said, taking the box from the man, who stayed beside the younger-looking boy, though Yuui knew them to be the same age. She was certain this was the Doumeki that Watanuki had told her so much about.

Fai looked at the design on the box's lid curiously.

"That's the design that was on the magic feather that fell into Celes; the one that I made Chii out of," he said.

"It is indeed the magical symbol for a memory fragment," Watanuki said.

"Memory fragment?" Fai asked.

"Yes, that is what that feather was," Watanuki said. "You will understand better in a few moments, but I would like to explain this while you are conscious." Fai's eyes widened in worry.

"Conscious?" he said, alarmed at the implication that he would soon not be so. Watanuki ignored his outburst.

"No doubt you've gathered that Fai is indeed one of your parents, Yuui," he said. Fai and Yuui looked at each other. It hadn't shocked either of them, but it was still odd to hear it spoken so blatantly. "I have scattered his memory feathers throughout time and space. You must retrieve them. There will be one memory feather per world, but that does not necessarily mean that each memory contains the same amount of recollection. He may be unconscious for only a few minutes after one memory, and days for another. It would be wise to secure a place to stay before returning the memory to him."

Yuui nodded, soaking the information in. She had to do this right if she wanted to get all of Fai's memories back for him.

"How this will work is simple," Watanuki said. "Before you leave here today, Fai will have regained the proper memories of his past, his memory of this world, and a glimpse of the next world. That way, he will be able to transport you to the correct dimension. You will essentially be retracing the journey that Fai had travelled in his forgotten past. You will face several hardships. Fai knows full well that dimension travel is not easy."

Fai nodded.

"You may find yourselves thrown into the middle of war. You may find people who look like people you knew on other worlds, and encounter them again and again. These are not the people you know. They are parallels: people who possess the same souls as the people you know, but have lived completely different lives on other worlds. You can trust no one. Just because someone helped you in one world does not mean they are your ally in the next. All the while, you must search for Fai's memories.

"Each time you find the next memory, it will contain the knowledge of the next world you must travel to," he looked Fai in the eye, "no matter how much you may not want to go."

Watanuki closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he became more business-like.

"Now, for payment," he said. "It won't be very severe, since the majority of the payment will be the journey itself. From Fai, I require…" Fai braced himself. "Nothing."

"What?" Fai asked, astonished. "How is that possible?"

"You will be going through far more pain than any of the others while on this journey," Watanuki said solemnly. "I'm afraid there's not much I can do about it. Some of the memories themselves are bad enough, but it will be like living it twice over. That suffering is enough payment." Fai didn't know how to respond. It was like a doctor telling you "this will hurt just a little" when you know it's going to be worse. He settled for nodding and locking his eyes on the sidewalk.

"From Corwin," Watanuki said, moving to Yuui's other side, "I require your memories of your mother."

Corwin gasped and stared at Watanuki, horrified.

"That's not fair!"Yuui protested. "You said the payment wouldn't be high."

"Yuui," Corwin said quietly. She ignored him.

"I've lived my entire life without parents," Yuui said to Watanuki. "I don't want Corwin to have to go through that when it's not even the truth!"

"Perhaps I should have phrased the price better," Watanuki said. "He will only lose the memories of her for the duration of the journey. When he returns to Kana, he will remember her."

Corwin put his hand on Yuui's arm.

"It's all right, Yuui," he said. "I want to help you. I can give up my memories of my mother for a while if it means I can help you find your family."

Yuui still didn't want him to do it, but he'd made up his mind. Corwin looked back at Watanuki and gave him a nod. Watanuki held out one hand and closed his eyes. The wind picked up and whipped around them all. Corwin's eyes unfocused and his head fell forward. Yuui jumped back a little when glowing wings began to form from his back. Some of the feathers were torn away from the wings in the wind and carried over to Doumeki, who held them with care as the wind died down.

Corwin's eyes slowly came back into focus. He blinked a few times and then looked at Yuui. He smiled brightly at her. She returned it with a slightly sad one of her own. Corwin knew he had paid something but he couldn't remember what. But he thought that was probably the point. He knew he would do anything for Yuui's sake, and he was sure that he would be able to get by with whatever he had just decided to do.

"Now for Yuui's payment," Watanuki said. "I require that key around your neck."

"Key?" Yuui asked. "What's a key?"

"It's an object used to unlock things," Watanuki said. "As you can see, this box won't open in reality like it did in the dream world." Indeed, when Watanuki tried to lift the lid on the box, it didn't move. There was a feather-shaped metallic seal on it with a hole the shape of a circle and line. "You have grown attached to the charms around your neck. The key will be your price."

Yuui held the charms on the chain around her neck. She _had_ become attached to them. They were her only clue to her parents. And Fai had shown recognition to the wing-like one. She reluctantly pulled the chain over her head.

"There's no latch," she informed him. "You'll have to take both."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Watanuki said. He held his hand over the charms and when he pulled it away, he held the key and it had removed itself from the chain. She hadn't even seen it go through. She silently marveled at Watanuki's magic that was so different than her own as she put the chain back around her neck. It was noticeably lighter.

Watanuki used the key to unlock the box and opened it. As soon as the lid was off, half of the feathers shot out of it and disappeared in the sky. Only two feathers remained in the side with the blue feathers. The other was still completely full. Slowly, two of the red feathers floated up out of the box and dissolved in midair at about eye level.

"As you receive your memories, Fai," Watanuki explained, "the parallel memory belonging to Yuui's other parent will be sent to its owner. I can tell you now that at first, details of this person will be fuzzy to you. Things like facial features, even the sound of their voice will be indistinct, but you will know what they are saying. They will become clear once you meet them in person."

Fai nodded.

"Now, you should come inside and lie down before I give you your first memories back," Watanuki said, turning towards the shop. "It's a long one."

Fai remembered.

Fai remembered what the man with the beard had really done to him. There was another curse that he could not remember. And another feather. And a journey. With a clone. And a princess. And someone from "Nihon" who was originally going to work for this man too, but the Dimensional Witch had gotten to him first. He had been instructed to kill this person if he disrupted the man with the beard's plan. He remembered that he kept the other feather safe for his journey. He remembered that he didn't kill King Ashura. He had put him to sleep and ran. He remembered that Fai's body was still in Celes waiting for him.

Then he remembered landing in the Dimensional Witch's yard. He remembered Watanuki behind her with two creepy-looking girls, one with long blue hair and the other with short pink. He remembered two teenagers and another person were there too. The boy, Syaoran, was the clone that he had been informed of, and he held his princess tight to him. He remembered their prices. He remembered giving his tattoo away and vowing not to use magic. He remembered that he still possessed his magic staff and the magic in his right eye. He remembered someone giving up a sword and vowing to return for it. He remembered the Dimensional Witch combining their wishes into one and giving them a small rabbit-like creature and sending them to another dimension.

Then he remembered a bustling city with billboards and vehicles.

He opened his eyes.

-Nihon Country—

Princess Tomoyo looked up as her guard entered the room.

"What is it, Kurogane?" she asked. He bowed.

"Princess Tomoyo, I wanted to ask you something," he said, kneeling before her. "It's a bit personal."

She smiled. It was good that he was opening up to her. She knew why he had suddenly changed eighteen years ago, but he did not.

"I apologize again for not keeping the wards strong enough all those years ago," she said kindly. "For allowing you to be injured so greatly."

Kurogane absently put his hand on his left arm that he believed he had lost in a battle against a monster eighteen years ago that had put him out of commission for a while.

"That's not what this is about," he said. "And you know I don't blame you for what happened." He thought of his mother briefly. "I had a dream last night. A strange dream."

"You better not tell me what it is," Tomoyo stopped him. "If it is a dream in the sense that you have seen the future, you must not tell anyone." Kurogane hoped it wasn't the future. He did not want Princess Tomoyo to send him away or for him to lose his precious Ginryuu and be eaten by a creature that looked like a pork bun. He immediately decided not to tell anyone now that he thought about it like that. He would sound insane and the council would have him retire early. He was only thirty-nine years old. He was too young to sit around and do nothing.

"Understood," he said to Princess Tomoyo, bowed, and left.

He didn't know why he suddenly had a strange dream. Everything had looked and felt so real. Everything except for one person. All he could remember about them was that they never wanted to return to the world they were from and had paid a price of an elaborate tattoo. What frustrated him was that he couldn't picture this person's face or hear their voice. Oddly enough, he was most curious to know if they were a man or woman.

-Watanuki's Shop—

Fai sat up slowly, rubbing his head and groaning.

"Are you all right?" Yuui asked, helping him sit up.

"Yes," he said, gladly taking the cup of water Watanuki had brought over. "How long was I asleep?"

"It's nearly midnight," Watanuki informed him. "You arrived at midday, so several hours." Fai shook his head lightly and sighed, taking a sip of water. "You can rest here for the night and leave in the morning."

"I'm just wondering how we're going to find something as small as a feather in an entirely new world," Corwin commented.

"You feel them," Yuui and Fai said at the same time, then looked at each other. Watanuki chuckled.

"Each person's memories have a distinct wavelength of power that they emit," he explained to Corwin. "Since Fai and Yuui are magic-users, they can sense the wavelengths and remember the feel of them."

"Oh that makes sense," Corwin said then tried to suppress a yawn. Yuui stood and held out her hand to him.

"Let's go to bed," she said. He took her hand and they went to a room across the hall from where Fai had been taken to rest.

Fai was left alone. He didn't really feel tired since he'd just slept, so he thought.

This person he had fallen in love with: had they remembered the meeting in the Dimensional Witch's yard yet? Had they known half of what he had, hiding a feather in his pant leg and hoping that the Witch or the Mokona couldn't sense it and wondering if the opportunity to plant it would arise soon enough.

Seeing Syaoran for the first time, he could tell that he was a clone, but he still wondered if the borrowed heart in the boy would be able to develop into its own.

He tried to remember the person who he was supposed to have fallen in love with. Even though Watanuki had been careful not to divulge the gender or name of the person, he wanted to know. Based on the price the person had given and the behavior, it was most likely a man, but he couldn't rule out an extremely grumpy and tough woman.

He chuckled at that thought and turned over onto his stomach to try to sleep some more before their journey.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've had unbelievable writer's block on this story. I finally had some inspiration and voila! Here is chapter 9!

As dawn arrived, Fai, Yuui, Corwin, and the pipe fox prepared to leave.

"Safe travelling," Watanuki bid them farewell as a small black creature that looked like the white one Yuuko had given the travelers so many years ago waved from his shoulder and Fai wondered where the white one was now. Fai concentrated on the city he could vaguely remember and transported them.

When they arrived, they were immediately hit with a rush of cold air. Yuui and Corwin immediately drew closer, searching for body heat as their breath huffed out in clouds in front of them.

"Let's find a place to stay," Fai said and looked around. There wasn't snow on the ground yet, which meant it was very early winter and would only get colder the longer they stayed.

They decided to stay along one of the main streets and look for a building that looked like lodging for travelers or visitors. Anyone they passed would stop and stare at them and it was understandable. Their clothes were nothing like what anyone else was wearing. As they approached a building with a couple floors, Yuui saw a woman standing out front, facing them, as if she were waiting for them.

Sure enough, when they got closer, she bowed politely.

"Welcome, travelers," she said. "My name is Arashi. I've been expecting you." Yuui could sense some sort of power coming from this woman. She wasn't trained enough in magic to know what kind of power she had, but it was like she had known they were coming. Maybe she could see the future.

"You'll need a place to stay, right?" said a man who was approaching from inside the building. "The name's Sorata. I see you've already met my wife, Arashi. She got up so early, and I was wondering why. It seems today was the day you guys were coming. We have a couple open rooms waiting for you."

"Why are you helping us?" Corwin asked, slowly catching on that they had known of their arrival in advance.

Sorata and Arashi shared a glance.

"Yuuko was an old friend," Arashi said.

"Watanuki informed us of your situation, so I understand why you are hesitant," Sorata said. "We provided lodging for you on your first journey," he said to Fai. "It's a shame that you can't remember it yet. They were such a nice group of people. Especially the boy. He was as determined as they come."

_Because he was a clone with a purpose programmed into him,_ Fai thought almost bitterly before brushing it aside slightly. It was all in the past, even if it was waiting for him in his future. Obviously whatever happened with the clone had been over and done with for eighteen years. He would find out eventually how it ended.

He put on a smile he hoped was charming.

"Thank you very much," he said. "We would certainly like to get in out of the cold." He sounded more than a little amused, Yuui thought. He was standing there in just as much clothing as Yuui and Corwin and yet _he_ wasn't shivering like they were. They couldn't get inside soon enough.

Arashi took Yuui into her room as Sorata showed Corwin and Fai to another right next to it. First matter of business was finding them normal clothes.

"Hm, you're a bit taller than me, but these should fit," Sorata said, handing them outfits. "If you need any help figuring them out, I'll be right outside the door."

Meanwhile, Arashi was holding up a number of dresses for Yuui to choose from. For whatever reason, Yuui didn't like any of them. Arashi abandoned the dresses and held up shirts and pants. These were more to Yuui's liking. Arashi helped Yuui figure out how to use a bra and told her what clothes went on first and things like that.

"We'll go shopping at some point and get you things that are actually your size," Arashi said. "You're a bit bigger than I am in places, not to mention taller."

"Thanks, Arashi," Yuui said, examining herself in the mirror. She wore a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt and jeans that were nearly black. They were both snug and her midriff showed a little (a lot if she raised her arms) but it looked nice with her complexion.

"This is for when you go outside," Arashi said, holding up a long coat. Yuui took it and tried it on to see how it looked.

"Ooh, it's really warm," she said, surprised. It didn't look like it would be, but the lining was really soft and warm while the outside was a leather-like material. It was dark brown and contrasted well with the blue of her outfit.

When Yuui walked into the hallway to meet with the others, she took a moment to examine their outfits as well.

Corwin was in a black turtle neck shirt and blue jeans with a brown coat, and Fai had a light blue cable knit turtle neck and khaki pants with a jacket that matched his shirt. He also had a scarf around his neck, though Yuui didn't know that was what it was called. They all wore the shoes they'd been wearing when they'd left Kana.

"Before you go looking for the feather, we wanted to give you a crash course on this world," Sorata said and Arashi rolled her eyes as he grabbed his puppet. As he went into excited detail about the language and customs of Hansin, as they had soon learned was the name of this country, they all noticed just how different this world was. The writing made no sense at all to any of them, Yuui and Corwin only being fluent in Kanian, and Fai's knowledge limited to Kanian, Celesian, and Valerian, all of which were similar to each other, but very different than these strange symbols Sorata was writing on a white board.

When Corwin brought it up, asking how they spoke the same language audibly when the writing was so different, Sorata sat back and scratched his head.

"To be honest, we aren't speaking the same language, if I understood it correctly the last time you were here," he said. "If I'm not mistaken, the Mokona acted as a translator of sorts, just by being around it. It automatically translated the languages in the individuals' heads. So when you guys speak, Arashi and I hear our language, and when we speak to you, you hear yours."

"I see," Yuui said.

"What's a Mokona?" Corwin asked.

"It was a small creature the Dimensional Witch, Yuuko, gave to us on our first journey," Fai said. "Do you remember the small, black creature at Watanuki's shop?" Corwin nodded. "There was a white one with a red jewel on its forehead that she gave to us. I could tell that it was a magic-made creature. Translation was probably one of its magical abilities, along with travelling through dimensions at random. I'm sure it had more, but I can't remember." He frowned. He hated his memories being incomplete. It made him feel mentally unstable.

"So what's translating now?" Yuui asked. "We don't have a Mokona." She looked at the pipe fox, which had fallen asleep draped around Corwin's shoulders, in interest.

"It's your necklace," Fai said simply. "Surely you feel the magic contained within it."

"I guess I've never really thought about it," Yuui said, lifting the charm to inspect it. "It's always been around my neck. I have always known that magic was holding the jewel suspended in the middle of it."

"It has several magical properties, but none as extensive as the Mokona," Fai said. "It translates very similarly to how the Mokona did, but it also helps with your judgment. Have you ever had a really bad feeling about a person or a situation? The pendant can sense people's ill intentions and in turn gives off a negative feeling to the wearer. It's almost like a conscience." Yuui blinked a few times.

"You can tell all of that just from its wavelengths?" Yuui asked in awe. She continued without giving Fai time to answer. "Then what did the other pendant do? The one that Watanuki took."

"That wasn't a pendant," Fai said, ignoring her first statement. "It was a key. And it was as ordinary as they come, I'm afraid. I couldn't sense anything from it. It simply unlocked a box that contained the feathers."

"I see," said Yuui, a little bit crestfallen, but still surprisingly proud of her pendant and the key she no longer possessed. She started a little when Fai chuckled beside her and knit her brows together when she saw the giddy smile on his face. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Fai lied. Throughout their conversation, he had been trying to see if he could get the language he heard to switch between the three he knew and had amused himself in switching between them as he talked as well.

_You're such an idiot._

Fai gasped and swung his head around the room, searching for the source of the voice he had heard. There was no one else. And now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember if it was a man's voice or a woman's, or even if he had heard it or if he had merely thought it. But he did know without a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't an accusation. It was an endearment. And for some odd reason, hearing (or thinking) it made his heart race, and not in a bad way.

"What is it?" Yuui asked. Fai looked back at them and came back to his surroundings, practically forgetting the voice altogether. He blinked once.

"Nothing," he said, feeling a little confused himself, but letting it pass for now. Things were going to be strange for a while, he knew. He had to get his feathers back, just like the clone Syaoran had to find Sakura's. He knew he was forging on the same path that he had before, only he felt like he was beginning two long, excruciating journeys at the same time.

He hoped at least one of them had a happy ending.


End file.
